Ramon Ang: SMC food facilities to operate 24/7

MANILA, Philippines — Food facilities of the San Miguel Corp. would operate 24/7 as the enhanced community quarantine is in effect in Metro Manila to ensure that the company’s supply chain is stable and enough to provide food for Filipinos nationwide for the next several months.

“As far as food supply is concerned, we have the capability to produce enough for everybody and deliver to supermarkets,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said in a statement on Monday.

“We will operate our food facilities 24/7. This isn’t about making profits. We have a responsibility to make sure that food is made available to as many people as possible,” he added.

Other vital SMC businesses, such as fuels, through Petron Corp. and power generation, through SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., and SMC Infrastructure will also continue to operate.

“We will provide essential services such as food, water, power, petrol products and beverages to everyone,” Ang said.

All employees of SMC would continue to get paid despite the quarantine and any form of work discontinuation.

SMC will also donate its own brand of disinfectant powder to local government units amid the shortage of alcohol sanitizers.

It is also looking to produce 70% ethyl alcohol solutions at one of its facilities and distribute these for free to communities, Ang said.

“We have the means and capability to produce this, and make it available for free to LGUs and public hospitals. We are working on getting the necessary clearances from the relevant government agencies, to produce this for public use. We ask that they help expedite clearances,” he said.

SMC spirits subsidiary, Ginebra San Miguel Inc., has already begun the initial production of the alcohol over the weekend to use in its facilities and for thousands of employees.

“This is so our facilities and our own employees will not be taking away from the already limited supply that’s available to the public. Our main intention is to get this to our government and healthcare providers at the soonest possible time,” he added.

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In a mobile message to the Inquirer, Ang reassured the public: “Our raw materials are good for six months worth of food manufacturing.”

He said that the conglomerate’s supply chain is stable and that it has more than enough inventory to satisfy Filipinos’ demand nationwide.

“As far as food supply is concerned, we have the capability to produce enough for everybody and deliver to supermarkets,” he said, adding the company is already working on distributing food donations to poor communities where daily paid workers have been especially hard hit.

San Miguel will also supply food to public hospitals and select government centers.

Despite widespread implementation of flexible work-from-home schemes — which San Miguel has already adopted for its offices throughout Metro Manila — Ang assured the public that the company will maintain operations of its food manufacturing facilities, with heightened precautionary measures, to ensure a continuous supply.

“We will operate our food facilities 24/7,” he said. “This isn’t about making profits. We have a responsibility to make sure that food is made available to as many people as possible.”

Ang added that he was given assurance that the government, through its Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of Interior and Local Government, will lend assistance in securing its food facilities to allow for continuous operation and supply of raw materials to produce food for the country.

He added that other vital SMC businesses, such as fuels, through Petron Corporation, and power generation, through SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., and SMC Infrastructure, will also continue to operate.

Amid the shortage in alcohol sanitizers, Ang also said that SMC is looking to produce 70 percent ethyl alcohol at one of its facilities and distribute this for free to communities through their local government units.

The company is also donating to local government units its own brand of disinfectant powder, which is safe for humans and can easily be deployed as extra protection against the virus.

“While hand-washing is still the best defense, hand sanitizers with 70 percent alcohol can be your next best option where soap and water are not available,” Ang said. “We have the means and capability to produce this, and make it available for free to LGUs and public hospitals. We are working on getting the necessary clearances from the relevant government agencies, to produce this for public use. We ask that they help expedite clearances.

Ang added that SMC subsidiary Ginebra San Miguel Inc. had already begun initial production of the alcohol over the weekend, for use in its facilities and for thousands of employees, initially.

The San Miguel chief urged Filipinos to unite and help one another.

“It is our sense of duty and obligation, pagkakaisa and malasakit that will see us through these difficult times,” he said.